The Master's degree is typically completed through coursework within three consecutive terms over a period of twelve months. The program has two general goals: to furnish students with a panoramic overview of the discipline’s varied terrain and to help them develop a research focus in their studies. Toward that first end, the program’s range of courses enables students to grapple with contemporary issues concerning literatures in English from all historical periods and many parts of the globe. These courses introduce a variety of theoretical approaches, which challenge assumptions about ideas, literary texts, and authors in order to illuminate the political implications of language and to interrogate the racial, gender, and class ideologies underlying representation. To achieve the second goal, the MA encourages a student to select a cluster of courses converging on a historical period, geography, or theme. ENGL 5005, the one core course required of all MA students, also facilitates the development of a research focus, by looking at different research methodologies and workshopping grant proposals. Furthermore, students may take up to one full credit of courses in other graduate departments at Carleton so that their research can benefit from the disciplinary insights of Canadian Studies, Film Studies, Cultural Mediations, History, or Women’s Studies.

Each MA candidate will select one of the following program streams: coursework, research essay, or thesis. Each stream is of equal status and designed to be completed within the three-term academic year.

The Coursework Stream: Most students will enroll in the coursework stream, which offers the widest exposure to the various subfields of the discipline. This stream is comprised of the equivalent of 8 half courses, plus ENGL 5005.

The Research Essay Stream: The topic for a research essay typically evolves out of a student’s coursework. The forty page essay is written during the last term under the supervision of a faculty member—with both expertise and an interest in the student’s topic—and a second reader. This streamis comprised of the equivalent of 6 half courses, plus ENGL 5005, and ENGL 5908: Research Essay, which includes an oral examination.

The Thesis Stream: The thesis option is typically reserved for a student who has, prior to entering the program, already completed a substantial amount of background research into his or her chosen topic. This stream is comprised of the equivalent of 4 half courses, plus ENGL 5005, and the ENGL 5909: Master’s Thesis, which includes an oral examination.

The following table, which compares the three streams, shows the registration make-up for each term. Courses and requirements are normally at the 5000 level.

Stream	Fall	Winter	Summer
Coursework	5005, 5xxx, 5xxx, 5xxx	5xxx, 5xxx, 5xxx	5xxx, 5xxx
Research Essay	5005, 5xxx, 5xxx, 5xxx	5xxx, 5xxx, 5xxx	5908
Thesis	5005, 5909, 5xxx, 5xxx	5909, 5xxx, 5xx	5909

Carleton offers various kinds of financial assistance, which only full-time graduate students are eligible for. The main types of funding include the following:

Teaching Assistantships: Each successful applicant may be offered a teaching assistantship, which Carleton considers as funding. This position provides part-time employment during the year for two terms. Pay and working conditions of these unionized positions are governed by a collective agreement between CUPE 4600 and Carleton University.

Internal Funding: All successful applicants will be automatically considered for Entrance Scholarships from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. The English department’s endowments provide an additional source of scholarships for successful applicants, who will be automatically considered for them. Internal funding from both the faculty and the department may be held concurrently with a teaching assistantship. Carleton also offers various kinds of financial assistance—from bursaries for financial need to awards for pursuing particular kinds of research—that students are themselves required to apply for. Please see the awards database on Carleton’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research website.

External Funding: Successful applicants who hold external funding, such as OGS or SSHRC, are fully eligible for internal funding as well. Because research awards are a vital dimension of the graduate student’s career, the department is committed to working diligently with students as they apply for them, particularly for OGS and SSHRC.  

The MA Guidebook gives a detailed overview of the program, its administration, its timeline, and its resources. It is an invaluable resource for students as well as faculty members. You can download it here.*

But the ultimate authority on all of Carleton’s programs is the current version of Carleton's Graduate Calendar.

*N.B. Direct link to PDF. Requires Acrobat Reader to view, or similar application capable of opening and viewing PDFs. Please visit the Adobe website to download the latest version of Acrobat Reader for your computer.

The minimum admission requirement for the master’s program is a BA Honours (or the equivalent) in English literature with at least a high honours standing (normally B+ or better).

For more information on admission requirements and how to apply to our MA program, please see the department's main page.